Creamy Hash Brown Casserole

Courtesy of Paula Deen

1/4 c. butter, plus more for dish
1 onion, chopped
1 (16oz) container sour cream
1 (10 1/2 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 (8oz) package shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 (30 oz.) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 tspn salt
1/2 tspn ground black pepper
2 cups crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a casserole dish. I used a spray.

In a small skillet, melt 1/4 c. of butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 3-4 minutes, or until soft. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, cream of celery soup, cheese, garlic powder, hash browns, and salt and pepper. Combine until well blended.

Pour the mixture in prepared baking dish. Top evenly with crushed potato chips and bake for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I got this from a blog a long time ago but I think the original is on AllRecipes somewhere. Anyhoo, here's our favorite version:

2 Tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 large yellow or white onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 crushed garlic clove
1 1/4 cups 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 oz grated sharp cheddar
Large handful of grated monterey jack cheese
16 oz package frozen chopped broccoli
1. Melt butter in stock pot on medium, add onion and cook til' soft. Add pepper and garlic, and cook for a few minutes. Add broccoli and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer to broccoli is tender (10-15 minutes).
2. In separate bowl, whisk flour into milk until completely dissolved. Stir into soup, stirring frequently ti'l thickened. Reduce heat to low, and then stir in cheese til smooth and heated through. Salt to taste.
Serves 4-5.

Kari's awesome green beans

My sister in law, Kari, made these at Thanksgiving and I want to make them again. This way I won't lose the recipe!

For the green beans:
2 pounds fresh french green beans
3 T olive oil
2 t coarse salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper

For the gremolata:
2 T fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
zest of 1 small lemon
zest of 1/2 orange


Preheat oven to 375, put racks in upper and lower third of oven. Trim and wash the green beans. Dry them thoroughly. Toss beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on two rimmed sheet pans. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, remove the pans from the oven and shake to toss green beans. Replace in oven, switching racks, and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until beans are mildly browned but not burned on tips.

While the green beans are roasting, mince the parsley and garlic and add to the lemon and orange zest in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Immediately after removing beans from oven, shake again and then stprinkle with gremolata. Toss beans with gremolata using tongs. Serve immediately.

My Favorite Potatos

Home Fries ala SmittenKitchen.com
Loosely adapted from Cook’s Country

to quote smittenkitchen --

There are two secrets to making great home fries, if you ask me. The first is cooking the onions separately. As potatoes need to cook quite a bit longer than onions, it saves them from become burnt specks by the time the potatoes are ready. The second is more of a shortcut (so you can make them more often because they’re easier!) which is that I reduce the pan-frying time by half cooking them in the microwave first. As the best French fries are twice-cooked, this follows that line of reasoning well, yielding home fries with a soft center and crisp edges.

As you may guess from my tirade above, I do have more success with these (and can greatly reduce the amount of butter needed) when I cook them in a nonstick pan, but I’ll leave it up to you whichever you prefer working with.

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Seasoning of your choice: Garlic powder or salt work great, as does smoky Spanish paprika or chopped chives

1. Arrange potatoes in large microwave-safe bowl, top with 1 tablespoon butter, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until edges of potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.

2. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large regular or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl.

3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and pack down with spatula. Cook, without moving, until underside of potatoes is brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn potatoes, pack down again, and continue to cook until well browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring potatoes every few minutes, until crusty and golden on all sides, 9 to 12 minutes. Stir in onion, seasonings of your choice and salt and pepper to taste.

Jen here -- my mom made these almost the same way the entire time I was growing up. . . We called them German Potatoes because she'd fix hundreds of pounds of them for Oktoberfest.

Easy Cheese Biscuits

I just whipped these up in about 10 min for lunch today... okay, yeah, they are good.

Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

2 c. Bisquick
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450. Whisk bisquick, milk & cheese together in a bowl until a soft dough forms; beat vigorously 30 seconds. Drop dough by 10-12 spoonfuls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, combine butter & garlic powder until well mixed; brush on warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

At first they didn't taste cheesy enough or garlicy enough. Before storing the leftovers in a baggie, I brushed the rest of the butter/garlic powder mixture on top. I just went back for seconds, 2 hours later and they are perfectly garlicy. Next time, though, I am going to use freshly grated Extra Sharp cheddar, and probably more than just 1/2 a cup.

Rolls from Scratch and Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch

This is from a note from David's head director, Manuel San Luis. They're AWESOME. Sorry about the lack of exact measurements later on. I am certain these are not good for weight watchers, but with Thanksgiving coming up I'm planning on making a lot of these.

Basic Roll Recipe:

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 2 pkg. dry yeast (fast rising works)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 6 cups flour

Put yeast and 1 tsp sugar in water and let dissolve. (This will also serve to proof the yeast. If it does not foam in the water, pour it out and start over.) Scald the milk and allow it to cool to room temperature. Cream 1/2 cup sugar, salt and 1/2 cup butter. Beat in the egg, then add the milk and yeast. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time and mix. The mixture should be sticky. If too much flour is added, the rolls will not be light (hockey puck time)!

Let the dough rise in bowl until double in size. Punch down. Cover with a thin layer of oil and place in refrigerator. Refrigerate at least overnight but not more than 2 days. (This is optional)

On floured surface, knead dough slightly. Roll out and cut with biscuit cutter. Dip in melted butter; fold in half. To make folding easy, pull on the dough slightly. Place on ungreased pan. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 400ºF for 10 min. or until golden brown. Watch them carefully to avoid burning.

For Cinnamon Rolls:
Add more sugar and a teaspoon of each of vanilla and almond extract to the dough. Roll out on floured surface into a rectangular shape. Spread softened butter or margarine over the top of the dough. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over buttered dough. Add pecans or walnuts on top of everything.

Roll up the dough, length-side first, very carefully and tightly. Pinch ends of rolled up dough and cut into 1-inch rolls. Place rolls on greased cookie sheet and brush with butter. Bake at 350ºF for about 25 min. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

Drizzle mixture of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Top with more pecans.

The only green beans the boys'll eat...

Not so much a recipe as it is a technique. I'm sure it will work on fresh green beans if you cook them long enough.

I got this from my week long new-restaurant training at Texas Roadhouse. We had to learn back of the house cold prep, hot prep, 2 how-they-make-that sides, some butchering (ewww!), DMO (dish machine operator), and expo, and the cooks had to learn front of the house - how to serve and take orders and run food (haha!!) ANYhow, my 2 sides were green beans and baked potatoes.

• Green beans (We use canned since the boys will eat them. I know, yuck, right?)
• Bacon
• Onion (we use dehydrated onion flakes as a pantry staple, but fresh is good if it's cut up tiny-like)
• Salt to taste

Cut up some uncooked bacon and throw it in the saucepan (the taller ones, don't know what they're called) let it cook. Probably 2 full strips worth... I just know I do a lot. Leave the grease in there. Yes, leave the bacon grease in the pan!

Dump the green beans in the pan. I've only ever done this with canned green beans but the restaurant uses fresh, rest assured. Don't drain the can of green beans, just dump it in there on top of the cooked bacon pieces and bacon grease. Sprinkle some onion on top (or you could brown the onion first in the bacon grease if you're using fresh onions), cover and let it heat on low until all the other dishes in the meal are completed. The green beans should be nice and bacony delicious.

Like I said, more of a technique than a recipe. James LOVES his green beans when they're bacon green beans!

Chili Roasted Potatoes

Another from Rachel Ray:

1 1/2 pounds small red skinned potatoes, quartered
EVOO to coat
1 1/2 tspn ground cumin
1 1/2 tspn chili powder
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle potatoes with EVOO. Toss potatoes with seasonings. Place on nonstick baking sheet and roast 20 minutes or until just tender.

We have made these "semi-homemade" by using frozen Ore-ida Steak Fries, tossed in olive oil, cumin, and chili powder, and cooked according to package directions. Less prep and taste just as good.

Twice Baked Potatoes

I'm craving these all the time during this pregnancy. This is the first twice-baked potato recipe we've ever tried but I think it's a winner! It makes a lot but the leftovers reheat well. You can also go on allrecipes.com (link) and cut the servings in half and it will adjust the measurements for you.

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 green onions, sliced, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4. When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
5. Bake for another 15 minutes.

8 servings

Original Recipe on allrecipes.com with nutrition information and serving adjustments